Life Worth Living
by Shahrezad1
Summary: Megamind has been alive for thirty years. But there's a difference between being alive and really living. A series of one-shots from both Roxanne and Megamind's perspectives. May life always be an adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Life Worth Living**

By Shahrezad1

**Summary: **Megamind has been alive for thirty years. But there's a difference between being alive and really living. A series of one-shots from both Roxanne and Megamind's perspectives. May life always be an adventure.

**Disclaimer:** I am poor and I like Dreamworks too much to steal anything from them. So this is just for enjoyment! =D So enjoy already! ~_^

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**Chapter 1:** Pride Goeth

**Cyrano de Bergerac**: _Think of me./ Me whom the plainest woman would despise./ Me with this nose of mine that marches on/ Before me by a quarter of an hour./Whom should I love? Why of course it must be/ The woman in the world most beautiful. _  
**Le Bret**: _Most beautiful?_  
**Cyrano de Bergerac**: _In these eyes of mine, beyond compare._  
**Le Bret**: _Wait! Your cousin - Roxane!_  
**Cyrano de Bergerac**: _Yes. Roxane._

-Edmond Rostand, _Cyrano De Bergerac_

He stared at the stage, open-mouthed, as the clapping began and slowly grew into a dull roar. Like many of the other audience members he was up and out of his seat, but it wasn't for the purpose of any kind of standing ovation. Rather, he was crouched forward, gripping the edge of their box's rim, blue head glowing even beneath the dim theater lights.

Roxanne slowly smiled, eyes half-lidded and hands clapping as she waited out his reaction.

"W-whah? NO! He _couldn't_ have just…?"

Megamind whirled around to stare at his date, long fingers outstretched on his left while his right continued their death grip. Unnoticed, his tux tails (black of course) flapped with the force of his movement. As though they, too, were responding as his shock turned to incredulity.

Roxanne still sat, lips silent and legs crossed.

"But he was _so close!_ How could they just _end_ it like that? What torturous plot is _this?"_

That was her cue. Wetting thinly glossed lips, the woman leaned forward to place a hand on his black-clad arm, which was for once not covered in spikes, "Megamind, sometimes stories don't have a happy ending."

"But _why?_ Why even create such a tale if it has a negative outcome?"

Ignoring the irony of the question, particularly in light of his previous occupation, she answered, "because sometimes life is just like that," her shoulders dipped and rolled in a delicate shrug, and Megamind was temporarily distracted by the rich wine color of her dress, "it teaches us to live in the moment. To appreciate all that we have and never waste a single second of our lives. Also it teaches us to just be ourselves."

He looked torn, eyebrows lined up dramatically over his nose as if they were one long stretched caterpillar. And along the soft skin of his temple cerulean skin creased in a sea of slim folds, "but…"

_Okay, enough of the drama._

Reaching forward more fully, Roxanne grasped his face by its angular jaw till distracted eyes were slowly dragged from the empty stage back to her.

"Megamind," her tone brought his emotions up short, and suddenly the man was at attention. Determined reporters had that effect on former villains-turned-heroes, "you have an amazing brain and you are an excellent strategist. You're also great at seeing where you've made mistakes, picking yourself back up and trying again. So, as a strategist, what did he do wrong? Think all the way back to the very beginning, when he first came on to the scene. What felt like a bad choice?"

The intensity of his gaze turned inward, expressive eyes flickering anywhere but Roxanne as the Acts turned back in time.

"The swordfight. At the beginning of the first act."

"Why? It was an exciting scene, both hilarious and interesting."

"But…" her unofficial boyfriend bit his bottom lip in the universal look of uncertainty, harking all the way back to every unfortunately _shool_ event one could think of. It was the moment in which you _thought_ you had the answer, but somehow knew that you if said anything you would only get ridiculed.

"Yes?"

And then it all came spilling out, "no one even cared about Cyrano's nose- It was just a way to rile him up! He was just as much at fault for any insult, because he was seeking that _ahh-ten-cion_ as proof of his own manliness despite the offending appendage. If he had just _told_ Roxane that he loved her, then…!"

She smiled happily; reassuringly. And the grip upon his chin grew lighter and more of a caress as she absentmindedly traced the path of his slim black goatee, "then she would have told him she loved him back. No secrets, no hiding behind the identities of others before it grew too late and she ended up married to the wrong man. And definitely _no_ death. Do you get why I brought you to this play now?"

The mouth, normally overactive with thoughts and ideas chattering forth, fell open. Then closed. Eyebrows shot up and glances were exchanged.

It was a good thing that apparently Roxanne loved him, because he felt like an idiot.

~/~/~

AN:

In the plot of Cyrano de Bergerac, the soldier, poet and closet romantic is known for loving his cousin, Roxane (which was okay back then). Unfortunately, the only thing getting in the way of true love is his nose…and the fact that he just promised to help his new friend, Christian, and Christian just happens to be in love with (you guessed it) Roxane.

The Problem is this: Christian can't pontificate worth squat, so Cyrano becomes his mouthpiece. Essentially saying through subterfuge the feelings he has for Roxanne, while she thinks it's really Christian. Thereby losing his chance at love because of his own pride. After all, Roxane never really loved_ Christian_, but the man who spoke to her with intelligence and love. So is Cyrano to Megamind what Christian is to Bernard ? Probably not, but it's definitely a strong coincidence. *laughs* This is my favorite play, btw, with exception of probably the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Importance of Being Earnest. ~_^

You can check him out here: http: / www. youtube. com/ watch?v =uy CEqpMupIc


	2. Chapter 2

**Life Worth Living**

By Shahrezad1

**Summary:** Megamind has been alive for thirty years. But there's a difference between being alive and really living. A series of one-shots from both Roxanne and Megamind's perspectives. May life always be an adventure.

**Disclaimer:** I am poor and I like Dreamworks too much to steal anything from them. So this is just for enjoyment! =D So enjoy already! ~_^

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**Chapter 2:** Blue and Green

"_All the colors of the Rainbow,_

_Hidden 'neath my skin._

_Hearts have colors,_

_Don't we all know?_

_Red runs through our veins._

_Feel the fire burning,_

_Oh, inspire me __**with blood of blue and green.**_

_I have hope._

_Inside is not a heart,_

_But a Kaleidoscope."_

-Sara Bareilles, _Kaleidoscope Heart_

Roxanne glared down at her hand and tried with every element of self-control she possessed not to swear. Megamind had started asking the definitions of said curses lately (in front of camera). And as hilarious as the situations were, it wouldn't do to give him more to work with. Especially when things were so…publically precarious for the "young" hero.

Leading her to where she was today. Quite literally, today. As in Tuesday.

Megamind wanted to decrease the city's crime rate in a true show of geniality and brotherhood.

He had ideas for this decrease.

In order to put them into effect, he had to present them to specific individuals.

Namely, the Metro City police department.

_All of it. All at once._

And what had Roxanne learned from this experience? That Megamind was very, _very_ good at having PTSD-related panic attacks and pulling her into things she wasn't in charge of, nor ever really wanted to be.

Of course, acting as a Mediator between volatile forces and an uneasy powder-keg of excitable ADHD was definitely an…_interesting_ experience to put on her resume, but it was the price you paid for having a Superhero as a boyfriend. And after having seen him explain himself, both on and off camera, she knew that everyone involved would probably appreciate the translation of his notes anyway, despite her overall irritation with the situation.

(Of course, she'd have been lost too if she hadn't been there to see the ideas develop, and even edited a few of them in the process. So she did appreciate that detail, even if it rankled to be Megamind's unofficial hand-holder while he dealt with a villain-sized version of stage fright.)

Anyway. The task was done and the boys in blue had dispersed-all that was really left was _her_ boy in blue, and he was slowly thawing from the "Heroic Pose ™" that he'd taken up in one moderately defensible corner of the large, square, white-washed meeting room. The police hadn't noticed the tactic, really, and now that that was done all she had left to do was cleanup. (Assuming that Megamind wouldn't be waking up from his catatonic state within the next few minutes.)

First, the snacks. Cups and plates were tossed into an industrial-size trashcan while cookie containers were closed to protect their remaining contents. She left the chair-folding to the rookies that would be coming by later to pack everything away. And then came the white board cleanup.

Only it just _wouldn't_, no matter how hard she'd tried.

Groaning at the chance that Megamind had brought permanent markers instead of the wipe-erase she'd suggested the night before, Roxanne had started to turn away only to notice that the diagrams were slightly blurred beneath her moist palm.

_Wet_ erase!

Hope scrubbed along with her as she had wet a paper towel and used a second one for drying. It wasn't until after she'd finished that the reporter realized that she was cursed. The ink had soaked through, staining her hand. And it wouldn't come off, no matter how she scrubbed.

She, Roxanne Ritchie, Star Reporter and overall investigative journalist, had a green hand just hours before she would be presenting the evening news. While in a red blouse, apparently declaring that it was once again Christmas in February.

Roxie glared down at her hand again, wishing for once that she might have supervision to burn the image away. Or even some really, really good Oxyclean towels or something. But just as she was pondering the idea of a chopping the thing off and swapping it for another, or even pulling a Michael Jackson, complete with a single sequined glove, long, slim blue fingers interrupted her vision. Then cradled her hand to his black-clad chest as he used his other hand to delicately wipe at it with a cloth smelling of disinfectant.

"Forgive me. I tend to forget that it stains. I don't really, well, see it against my own skin, so…" Megamind trailed off in apology, but Roxanne didn't notice. His sudden proximity had caused a mix of complex emotional responses, starting with a sudden increase in heart rate and ending with a certain shortness of breath that was almost dangerous. Had it always been this way between them, she wondered? And was she honestly all that mad at him for everything? Of course not. That was a true waste of energy if there ever was one.

"Anyway, I apologize Miss Ri-Roxanne."

"For what? You're not to blame for the invention of wet-erase markers. And even if you were-which I somehow believe-then I'm still the one that didn't think about the ink bleeding through. It's not a big deal. Life goes on," but when he continued to gloom, she then added, "unless you created this through a fate machine just to spite me, in which case I can honestly say that you can expect a pie projectile in the future."

That got a chuckle out of him, but Megamin's eyes remained downcast as he attempted to rub away at the stain till it was only a faint shadow. Against his gloveless hands it almost looked like he'd somehow rubbed off on her, the green tones becoming a light blue as veins tinted her pads and palm.

Megamind swallowed, then squeakily muttered something.

This of course made her start in surprise, then frown, "…I didn't exactly catch that, Green Eyes."

"Um…never mind. It doesn't matter. Let us…_decimidate_ these chair formations!" the hero abruptly shouted his words with a show of frivolity and deliberate mispronunciation, then proceeded to do just that until they had all fallen like dominoes. Afterward there was no other course of action but to fold them back up and put them away, like toys into a chest, but Megs didn't seem to mind. After all, he was good now, and responsibility was to be expected.

Roxanne, however, was still frozen by what she wasn't certain that she'd heard, blue eyes wide and mouth open.

"_You would look beautiful in blue."_

She didn't know if it even counted as a compliment, blue skin coming to mind a little more readily than the idea of her usual blue dress, so why couldn't she stop blushing?

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AN:

YAY! Second in the series (although previously the first. I'm working on that. -_- ). The basis for this was that I used a wet erase marker for the class I taught on Sunday for Church, and pretty much instantly regretted it. Oh, well. And it brought about this, so who am I to complain?

The second half of the idea comes from the fact that Megs obviously remembers what his parents look like, so probably has an unconscious preference for females that are similar to his own species. Namely those with large hips, a high forehead, and wide eyes. All Roxanne is missing is the blue skin, and Megamind has a pretty good imagination about these things. ^^ Such an adorably awkward hero. 3


	3. Chapter 3

**Life Worth Living**

By Shahrezad1

**Summary: **Megamind has been alive for thirty years. But there's a difference between being alive and really living. A series of one-shots from both Roxanne and Megamind's perspectives. May life always be an adventure.

**Disclaimer:** I am poor and I like Dreamworks too much to steal anything from them. So this is just for enjoyment! =D So enjoy already! ~_^

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**Chapter 3:** Nightmare

"…_You don't have to fight the bad guys,_

_Throwing punches out into the black._

_If you have to tell me lies, I don't care,_

_Just give me some good back._

_And I don't want to be alone,_

_Sky, don't let the sun go._

_I'm not ready for the darkness,_

_Swear upon a heartless soul._

_And I don't want to cry when you go,_

_Stay a little longer, you know._

_You're making me feel,_

_I'm not alone."_

-Sara Bareilles, _Not Alone_

The blankets tangled around her body like a living noose, drawing tighter and tighter around her with every frenzied toss as sweat plastered lank brown hair to her brow, seen glittering hotly within the dimly lit night. And outside, among the city that only slept when evil was about, cars flickered past in dispassionate waves of yellow headlights. Her alarm echoing the sentiment in flashes of red florescence.

Finally a low moan broke free, anguish taking her breath and welling moisture beneath long lashes.

The door swung open immediately, slim limbs sliding into a blackness as dark as his attire. Only the presence of a large oblong of blue skin reflected the ruby-red timepiece, black eyebrows furrowed over feverish eyes.

"Miss Ritchie! _Miss Ritchie!_ Roxanne!" he whispered harshly, worry soaking through formality like crime through an intercity neighborhood. Then words were replaced with an attempt at physical comfort, but when he tried to grip her shoulder she shot up from bed, gasping. Dilated blue eyes stared up into green, panic working its way through her system still. They abruptly crumpled as she seemed to focus, and in those hours of the morning Roxanne Ritchie, reporter, wrapped her arms around the former-villain Megamind's slim neck, latching on to the smooth skin and fabric as though it was her only chance for survival.

And then she cried.

Heat flooded into the hero's face as she pressed close, and never mind the clamminess of her skin and stickiness of her hair, he could feel something clench in the left side of his chest. Grasping fingers pressed burning prints into his cerebral cortex until there was no mistaking the rush and rapid beat of her pulse, a frantic worry upon his senses.

"Shh. It's alright. Safe. Everything is _yoo-kay_. Shh," words tumbled from lips unaccustomed to comforting others. But somehow what he was saying felt correct for the situation-a mixture of comfort and safety; all that he had been missing throughout his childhood. Slowly her sobs lessened, the death grip she'd patented loosening till she was once again laying back. And as the sun slowly made its dim arrival upon the scene, Megamind offered the only comfort he could give, a handkerchief, logo clearly present, pulled from one glove and carefully brushed against her cheeks till all traces of sorrow were gone.

Neither individual said anything for a moment, merely looking at one another.

"My scanner registered a dangerously high heart rate. I thought…" he didn't have to explain what he'd thought-that she was in danger or possibly even worse. A truly horrifying prospect at five AM, just two scant hours before she was set to get ready for the day.

Roxanne nodded in understanding, sniffing delicately at the remainder of tears which played havoc on her senses and pounding head.

"Nightmare. I dreamed…" she hesitated, bottom lip bitten in a thoroughly distracting manner for the alien man. Bravely, however, the reporter forged on, "that you had received the death penalty. They were going to cut off your head. And Metroman just…stood there. Like he wouldn't do a single thing."

To say that Megamind was shocked was a bit of an understatement, eyes growing larger with every descriptive word, "you dreamed about me? You _wary-ied_ about me?"

"Of course, you idiot!" laughter brok through her stupor before she sobered, "of _course_ I was worried about you. But…he just wouldn't do anything. Stood there, like a whitened sepulcher. And I somehow _knew_ you were innocent-you would have never done anything that deserved…"

"The death penalty."

Whatever words they might have said trailed off into silence as the couple just watched their opposite. Then finally Roxanne looked away, blushing. He took this as an indication that he should leave and shifted to stand from his slight bend.

"No! Don't! Don't…don't leave. I mean," again she bit her lip as emotions threatened to pour in streams down from melancholy eyes. Megamind found himself unable to move, "don't take this the wrong way, but…could you…stay the rest of the night? I just…need to know that you're safe."

Shock and uncertainty warred for control, while responsibility tartly informed him that he was supposed to be returning home from his rounds. To bring Minion up to speed and perhaps even tinker a bit before he was scheduled to crash (one had to schedule these things when in such a demand by the public).

But this was _Roxanne_, and she never asked for anything. Sure, the occasion had never called for it before, however…

Sighing, he removed his spiked gloves slowly and set them aside, then the boots. Only when his collar had been loosened the slightest bit did Roxanne slide over for him and tentatively, the so-very young in so-many ways man placed his arms around her waist, where they stayed till full morning. Whereupon Minion found them and a phone cried out that Roxanne was once again late for work.

~/~/~

AN:

A month ago I woke from a horrible nightmare involving my mother, who was about to receive the death penalty and have her head cut off. Morbid, huh? Meanwhile my father (my mother's first husband and I man I haven't seen for years, as_ he_ is incarcerated) just stood by and watched the verdict as it came. None of us were allowed to be with her except for my stepfather, although we were connected to her by phone, so technically us kids weren't even allowed a last goodbye. It was pretty horrifying, but no worries. My mom's still okay. :) Although apparently my stepfather also had a nightmare about her safety within the same day… -Twilight zone music-

Also, I've been listening to a little too much Sara Barreilles lately. Although the song is definitely a good one, and one of my favorites. ^^

As a note: Fanfiction . net has not been allowing me to respond to reviews. I promise, I'm getting them and not ignoring them. It just might take me a while to get back to you, though, as this little glitch seems to be presenting a problem. ^_^;; Sorry, everyone.


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